The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Difficult Words
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is a wonder if your style of writing is a bit on the intellectual side or if you want an Anthony Hopkins type of character, ala Silence of the Lambs–educated, professorial, cerebral. Their dialogue and interior monologue must include words that are well-selected, pithy, yet meaningful in their spot. They become the signature of that person and the reader recognizes the character’s appearance on a scene by their speaking style. If that’s not your normal speaking style (as it isn’t for most of us), it can be tricky, but not impossible thanks to this book.
In my case, I love words. I keep a list of my five hundred favorite nerdy words (like abecederian and apocryphal). I enjoy finding that one word to replace ten others–
- dew point
- heuristic
- curmudgeon
…or the exact word to fit a circumstance
- diaphoretic
- heterodox
- palindrome
When I bought this book, I curled up in bed and read it before going to sleep. The beauty of well-selected words is calming. So many of them flow off the tongue as though they should always have been there, in my mind.
- xenophobic
- obfuscate
- bibliophile
- perspicacity
Oxford Essential Dictionary of Difficult Words also has common words that we-all have likely forgotten–
- objective
- pantomime
- raffish
- spurious
When I read these, I scratched my head. They aren’t difficult, but–then it struck me–when was the last time I used them?
For more about beautiful words, check out these posts:
‘Whiffling’ and Other Beautiful Words
Seven More Favorite Geek Words
Ten Favorite Geek Words–Part I
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It’s a helpful blog. Thanks to Jacqui Murray and be continue…..
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Thanks, Muhammad.
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You’ve reminded me of another book that I cherish very much that has lots and lots of wonderful out of date words in them. Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. It was given to me on my birthday and I still leaf through it when I need to find the fictional/ historical starting point of a certain turn of phrase or the origins of a word.
Sometimes it can be very useful for a writer to know the original context a certain phrase was once used in. It could mean using the original meaning instead of the ‘evolved’ one. Words change over time, the way we use them and what they mean can also shift. Think about it, a forgotten word/ phrase could make a dramatic comeback if you include it in your next bestseller.
The other day I was surfing the web and came across the words ‘Sturm’ and ‘Drang’ (meaning German for Storm and Urge; the name of a movement in German literature and music). I kept thinking I knew that from somewhere and then it hit me; J. K. Rowling named one of her wizarding schools after it (Durmstrang). But she switched the words around a bit to make it different. I believe this is called ‘vesre’, where the syllables are switched around to make the word sound different but familiar at the same time.
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Words are fascinating. I believe you were the one who got us all adopting a word. Kindred spirits. Thanks for dropping by.
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I just wrote a note to Santa about this dictionary … 🙂
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Who would ever think a dictionary is fun to read. Something about this one–the words were comfortable, familiar, easy to relate to. What joy.
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